Biden wants $2.3 billion more for F-35s than the CDC

Speaking Security Newsletter | Advisory Note for Organizers and Candidates, n°82 | 13 May 2021

If you find these notes useful, you can support this newsletter here and SPRI, here. Sharing these newsletters also helps. Thank you!

Situation

Word is that Biden will ask Congress for 85 F-35s once his official fiscal year 2022 budget request drops. Bloomberg puts the cost of the buy at $11 billion. This figure seems low to me. Still, it’s $2.3 billion more than the $8.7 billion Biden requested for the entire CDC in the budget preview released last month.

Is this worse than Trump

Yes. Trump never requested more than 79. Which was bad enough considering the F-35 is complete dogshit (871 design flaws in 2020 and 873 in 2019, which means new problems are popping pretty much as fast as they’re fixing them). The program also eats up funds that could meaningfully support something else (like a second CDC).

* Data refers to each fiscal year’s initial budget request, via DOD Comptroller.

Congress typically buys more F-35s than the president requests

In large part because of members’ parochial interests. Terrific rundown by Sludge, here:

Sludge @Sludge

Reps lobbying for continued high spending on the #F35 have personal stakes in manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma holds up to $30,000 in Lockheed stock, and Daniel Meuser of Pennsylvania holds up to $15,000.

thebrick.houseLockheed-Backed Reps Lobby Against F-35 Spending Cuts - The Brick House CooperativeAs the F-35 fighter comes under Pentagon review for potential cuts, bipartisan groups of lawmakers are calling to continue high levels of spending on the troubled $1.7 trillion program.

Thanks for your time,

Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)

Find this note useful? Please consider becoming a supporter of SPRI. Unlike establishment think tanks, we rely exclusively on small donations.